Simple Springtime Salads

4/13/16 Cook’s Corner

Chuck's bountiful produce

Betty Kaiser

After a long dreary winter, I am always happy to see fresh spring lettuce pop up in my husband Chuck’s garden. He literally has a green thumb when it comes to growing lettuce. One day the garden bed is looking winter wimpy and the next it is sprouting lovely lettuce. Of course, there are only two of us to eat it all but shares with friends and neighbors.

Winter green salads at our house are pretty pathetic. After all, there are only so many ways that one can combine lettuce with the variety of tasteless winter vegetables that are available. It doesn’t help that I’m not very fond of the colorful packaged lettuce varieties that are available. I’m probably a minority in that mind set because there seems to be more packaged lettuce than fresh. But I digress.

I was a little slow in discovering how tasty fruit could be in a green salad. After all, I grew up in the era when a tossed salad consisted of lettuce, tomatoes, celery and green onions! But once I tasted my friend Kathe’s Mandarin Salad, I became hooked on adding orange slices, strawberries, or whatever else was handy to a bowl of lettuce.

Her candied almonds also dress up the simple ingredients. Add some cooked chicken and you’ve got a main dish.

In wintertime, I particularly love to add pineapple to a crisp combination of shredded cabbage and carrots. I do prefer to shred my own veggies but in desperation I have bought the packaged variety. Toast a few sunflower seeds to add to the mixture and it will brighten up any meal. The following original recipe came off a can of Dole pineapple many years ago.

And speaking of fruit, today’s final recipe is from Kraft Foods for a creamy grape salad. Yes, you heard right. Grapes. I think it might make a nice dish to take to a potluck dinner. The only fruits are grapes and pineapple chucks along with some slivered almonds and cream cheese dressing. It makes 24 servings of 1/2 cup each!

My salad dressings are often something that I buy off the shelf. I love the Litehouse Ranch Dressing made with buttermilk. I also like Kraft’s coleslaw dressing and Newman’s Own Raspberry and Walnut dressing. I think that taste-wise they do a better job than I do and their products last a lot longer than mine. Just about the only salad dressing that I make from scratch is a low cal Italian recipe that I’ve had for years.

Salads tend to be a last minute creation at my house so I have to use whatever I have on hand. Therefore, today’s recipes do not use any exotic or expensive ingredients. Give one of these a try and see how you like it. Enjoy!

MANDARIN SALAD

(From the kitchen of Kathe McIntire)

Candied Almonds Topping

1/2-1 cup slivered almonds

1/3 cup sugar

Put sugar in fry pan and melt over medium heat. Add almonds and stir until coated. Cool on waxed paper and sprinkle on salad.

Note: Make this in advance if you like and refrigerate. It keeps well.

Mix together in a large serving dish…

1 head of lettuce, chopped (any type)

1/2 bunch green onions

1 can mandarin oranges, drained

1 can sliced water chestnuts

Optional: 1 cup slivered or diced cooked chicken

Dressing

1/3 cup oil

1/3 cup cider vinegar

1 cup sugar

Shake well and add to salad a few minutes before serving about 6 lucky diners.

SUNFLOWER PINEAPPLE SLAW

1 can (20 ounce) Pineapple Tidbits

1/2 pound shredded cabbage

1/2 pound shredded carrots

1/2 cup sunflower seeds, slightly toasted

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrated, undiluted

Salt and pepper to taste

Drain pineapple, reserve 2 tablespoons juice.

Rinse cabbage and carrots in ice water. Drain well. Combine pineapple with them and sunflower seeds.

Stir together mayonnaise, orange juice, pineapple juice, salt and pepper. Pour over salad mixture, toss and chill. Serves 6.

HIBERNIAN SALAD FROM IRELAND

1 bunch Romaine Lettuce cut as you desire

1/4 head red cabbage, shred, rinse and pat dry

2 whole carrots, shredded

1 sliced cucumber

1 diced tomato

Black olives

Grated Parmesan

Combine ingredients and serve with either Italian or a buttermilk ranch dressing

LO-CAL ITALIAN DRESSING

1/2 cup oil

1/2 cup vinegar

1/4 cup water

1 teaspoon sugar

Add to taste your choice of seasonings: celery salt, garlic salt, basil and dill weed.

Put everything in a blender and blend well. Transfer to a container with a lid suitable for shaking and refrigerate several hours.

CREAMY GRAPE SALAD

4 cups EACH seedless green and red grapes, halved

2 cups fresh pineapple chunks

1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted

4 ounces Philadelphia cream cheese (1/2 pkg.)

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 cup brown sugar, packed

Combine fruit and nuts in large bowl. Microwave cream cheese in bowl 20-30 seconds or until softened; whisk until creamy. Add sour cream and sugar; mix well. Add cream cheese mixture to fruit and mix lightly. Serve in a lettuce cup and garnish with a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Note: I thinned out the dressing with a little milk and added a sliced banana. Fresh sliced strawberries would also brighten up the visual appeal. Also, if you don’t have slivered almonds, toasted walnuts or pecans work just fine. And this recipe is easily pared down to serve fewer diners.

Keep it simple and keep it seasonal! Betty Kaiser’s Cook’s Corner is dedicated to sharing a variety of recipes that are delicious, family oriented and easy to prepare.

Springtime Irish Soda Bread, Hot Cross Buns and Lemon Torte

3/16/16 Cook’s Corner

Hot Cross Buns Courtesy photo

Betty Kaiser

March is a huge month in our calendar year. Among other things, it heralds the arrival of spring with extravagant flower displays that say, “Winter is over. Yea!” And thanks to congress, it also ushers in Daylight Savings time. Boo. (I hate losing an hour of sleep.)

 It is also National Nutrition Month—an event that we ignore on March’s other holidays. Today’s recipes are not particularly healthy. Tasty and calorie laden, yes. But there’s not a vegetable among them so you’d better plan “healthy” around your main course meals.

 Forinstance, March 17 is St. Patrick’s Day and it’s easy to cook up a corned beef brisket and veggies. Simmer your corned beef all day. Then add potatoes, carrots and cabbage to round out the main event. To make dinner really special, bake traditional Irish Soda Bread. A simple recipe follows. Be sure and use buttermilk in the batter.

Two of the most holy days in the Christian Church fall in March this year: Easter Sunday (the resurrection of Jesus Christ) and Good Friday (Jesus’ death on the cross). According to tradition, hot cross buns are eaten on Good Friday to remind people of Christ’s death. The origins of those buns are somewhat controversial. Mostly because of their possibly pagan connections and commercial uses.

As a Christian, they simply remind me of Good Friday and I eat them in humble remembrance of the event. But even if you’re not a Christian, they’re mighty tasty, so you can still enjoy them. The recipe that follows is a nutmeg-and-cinnamon-spiced yeast dough bun. Lemon icing is easily piped through a zip-top bag corner to form the traditional cross on top. If you don’t like lemon, substitute milk and vanilla for flavoring.  There is no traditional Easter dessert that I know of. Every family has their own specialty. My favorite is lemon meringue pie or any strawberry and cream concoction. My husband’s is New York Cheesecake or a German Pineapple Schaum Torte. I think this year we will compromise and eat a Lemon Schaum Torte.  

  Whatever your traditions I hope that you enjoy the fellowship and the food and remember the reason for the season. God bless you all!

EASY IRISH SODA BREAD

 2 cups flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1-1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup margarine, softened

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 egg

2 tablespoons butter, melted

2 tablespoons buttermilk

Preheat oven to 375° F. Lightly grease a large baking sheet

 In a large bowl, mix together dry ingredients with margarine, 1/2 cup buttermilk and egg. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead slightly. Form dough into a round and place on prepared baking sheet.

 In a small bowl, combine melted butter with remaining buttermilk; brush loaf with this mixture. Use a sharp knife to cut an "X" into the top of the loaf.

 Bake in preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean — about 30 to 45 min. Continue to brush the loaf with butter mixture while it bakes. Serves 6-8.

Hot Cross Buns

(Southern Living April 2001)

 2 (1/4-ounce) envelopes active dry yeast

1/2 cup warm water (100° to 110°)

1 cup warm milk (100° to 110°)

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 large eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

5 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 cup raisins (I use the golden variety)

Sugar Glaze (recipe below)

 Combine yeast and 1/2 cup warm water in a large mixing bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Add warm milk and next 5 ingredients. Beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until blended.

 Combine flour and spices and gradually add to yeast mixture, beating at medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in raisins.

 Place dough in a well-greased bowl, turning to grease top.

Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 2 hours or until doubled in bulk.

Punch dough down; cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 30 minutes.

Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface, and roll to 1/2-inch thickness. Cut with a 2-inch round cutter.

Place on a lightly greased 15- x 10-inch jellyroll pan. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 45 minutes or until doubled in bulk.

 Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 20 to 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Let rolls cool 10 minutes. Pipe Sugar Glaze over rolls in the shape of a cross.

 

 Lemon sugar glaze

Whisk ingredients together until smooth:

1 cup powdered sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons milk (or use lemon juice)

1/2 teaspoon lemon extract

Lemon Schaum Torte

(Serves 8)

 Meringue:

4 large egg whites (reserve yolks for filling)

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 275° F. (low heat)

Line a baking sheet with parchment or plain brown paper.

 Beat eggs until frothy. Gradually beat in the sugar, a little at a time, until very stiff and glossy. On baking sheet, shape meringue as desired into either a large heart or 8 individual meringue shells. Make an indentation with back of spoon to hold filling.

 Bake 45 min. Turn off oven and leave inside until cool.

Lemon layer:

4 egg yolks

1/2 cup sugar

¼ cup lemon juice

2 teaspoon grated lemon rind (zest)

 Beat egg yolks in small mixer bowl until thick and lemon-colored. Gradually beat in sugar. Blend in lemon juice and rind. Cook over hot water in a double boiler, stirring constantly until thick (5-8 min.). Cool.

 To assemble: Spread meringue shells with cooled lemon torte filling. Top with about 1 cup sweetened whipping cream, stiffly whipped. Chill about 12 hours before serving.

Keep it simple and keep it seasonal! 

Betty Kaiser’s Cook’s Corner is dedicated to sharing a variety of recipes 

that are delicious, family oriented and easy to prepare.

Winter recipes from the Old Farmer’s Almanac

2/17/16 Cook’s Corner
Betty Kaiser

 I discover all kinds of trivia from “The Old Farmer’s Almanac”. For over 200 years this little paperback book has been publishing useful and sometimes humorous articles that readers can put to use every day. Weather predictions are the #1 reason people read the almanac. Sometimes they miss the mark but the information is still helpful.

Recently I decided to check out the www.almanac.com website. What fun! It has a 24 hour webcam that changes every minute. It was 19° with snow on the ground at noon on the day that I checked. The buildings and grounds in New Hampshire look like something out of a Norman Rockwell painting. So picturesque I wanted to move there!

The first thing that I noticed when I cracked the spine of the 2016 book edition is that this is Leap Year (we get an extra day) and also the 240th year of American Independence. So happy birthday to all of you Leap Year babies and our beloved USA.

For gardeners, there’s a section on straw bale (not hay) gardening. If you’re a fisherman, it suggests the best fishing days. If you’re interested in astronomy there’s a treatise on the Super Moon. And there are always both fiction and non-fiction stories to entertain. My favorite this year is about the bonding of “Jellybean” (a donkey) and Mr. G. (a goat). Really sweet.

I also discovered a recipe for Cranberry Bean Soup. I had never heard of cranberry beans. The almanac says they are beige colored with red spots and have a taste all their own. Reviews say they are sweet, nutty and buttery. I was intrigued.

Here are some berry-bean fun facts: They are not related to cranberries. They are not new or exotic and have been part of Italian diets for years. They resemble the pinto bean but do not taste like them. When cooked, the cranberry color disappears and they become a boring brown color. They are highly nutritious, high in fiber a good source of vegetable protein and tasty.

Unfortunately, I did not have time to search for the beans locally but I discovered that Bob’s Red Mill sells them online in 27 ounce bags. You can order directly from them for less than $5. The soup base is made with a ham hock and I have one in the freezer. So I’m going to buy me some cranberry beans soon.

All of today’s recipes are from the almanac including the Lemon Chess Pie.  If you like lemon, you’ll love this. I think it’s way better than the too rich Chocolate Chess Pie. And I can wholeheartedly recommend that you try the Maple Mustard Glazed Salmon recipe. It’s very similar to others I’ve tried—just better. Enjoy!


CRANBERRY BEAN SOUP
2 cups dry cranberry beans (or a substitute bean)
1 cup whole dry peas
1 meaty ham bone
2 bay leaves
1 onion stuck with 4 cloves
3 quarts water (less if beans aren't drained)
5 potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
4 leeks, white parts only, chopped, or 3 onions, peeled and chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
Garnish: grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions
Soak beans and peas overnight in water to cover. (Drain or not, as you prefer.) Place in soup kettle with bone, bay leaves, and onion. Add enough water to make 3 quarts. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer 2 hours or until beans are tender. Remove bone, chop meat into small bits, discard bone and return meat to kettle. Add potatoes, carrots, leeks, and garlic. Simmer, partially covered, 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Garnish with grated Parmesan cheese. Serves 6-8

Grilled Salmon With Maple Mustard Glaze

GLAZE:
2 tablespoons olive oil
¼ cup Dijon-style mustard
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 teaspoons soy sauce
Juice of ½ lemon
1 tablespoon peeled and chopped fresh ginger

SALMON:
4 salmon steaks, 1-inch thick
Salt and pepper, to taste

For glaze: In a small bowl, combine the oil, mustard, maple syrup, soy sauce, lemon juice, and ginger and whisk to blend. Pour half of the sauce into a small, nonreactive casserole.

For salmon: Blot the salmon with paper towels to remove surface moisture. Lightly salt and pepper both sides, and lay the salmon on the sauce in the casserole. Spoon the remaining sauce over and spread evenly. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Prepare the grill. Cook the salmon over medium-hot coals for 5 to 6 minutes, per side, turning once. Makes 4 servings.



Sandy's Lemon Chess Pie

1 9 Inch Pie Crust
1-1/2 Cups Sugar, granulated
3 Medium to Large Eggs
2 Tablespoons All Purpose Flour
Dash Salt
2 Teaspoons Lemon Extract
2 Teaspoons Lemon Juice, Pompeii's
3 Tablespoons Butter, room temperature
1/3 Cup Evaporated Milk

Pre heat your oven to 350 degrees.

Take a fork and poke holes in the bottom of your pie shell. Bake the pie shell for 12-14 minutes. Inspect the pie shell at 6 minutes to make sure it hasn’t puffed up, pat down with a fork if it has. Remove from the oven when it’s golden brown.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar, eggs, flour and salt, then mix at a medium speed for one minute. Add the lemon extract, lemon juice and the butter and mix for another minute. Add the evaporated milk and mix on high for a minute.

Pour the mixture into your pre-baked pie shell and bake for another 25 minutes.

Remove from the oven and sprinkle with powdered sugar and let cool. Serves 6-8

Keep it simple and keep it seasonal! Betty Kaiser’s Cook’s Corner is dedicated to sharing a variety of recipes
that are delicious, family oriented and easy to prepare.

Happy Birthday Cakes!

1/20/16 Chatterbox
Betty Kaiser

At our house, January is a good month. It’s my birthday!  I was born on January 13 but the celebration usually starts later. Most everyone (myself included) is so tuckered out from Dec. festivities they don’t know what to do with a January birthday. “Birthday? Betty has a birthday? In January? Omigosh!”

Actually, my birthday month is kind of fun. I’ve learned to love getting greetings all month long. Besides, belated cards are the funniest ones on the rack. So the way I look at it, the celebration may start a little late but it also lasts longer. I milk it for all it’s worth.

I just have two rules: I don’t plan my own party and I don’t bake my own cake. Neither of which anyone pays much attention to. After all, most of my family is 1,000 miles away and don’t even know it’s my birthday until it’s over! So I break half of my own rules and bake my own cake!

I love a good cake. Preferably homemade and chocolate. Except on my birthday. As a child, my mother always made me a Buttermilk Cake with boiled frosting. I still smack my lips when I think about it. I have her recipe (it follows) but somehow mine never tastes as good as hers. I think the childhood memories of coming home to a fresh cake covered with coconut, just for me, are sweeter than the cake.

I also like moist, fruity and nutty cakes. Not a dense, chewy fruitcake (like my husband adores) but something more the consistency of a spice cake. That love affair started at Kaiser’s Country Diner where once a week my dessert special would be carrot cake. The recipe below makes two 9X13” cakes but is easily divided. It also has sweet memories and the recipe is written on a splattered card in my own shorthand. You’ll like it.

A few years ago I tasted a pineapple pecan cake that was mouthwatering good. Unfortunately, I didn’t get that recipe. However, I got close. Leafing through an old Southern Living magazine, I was introduced to what they call “the ultimate recipe for Hummingbird Cake.” The review said that it was their most requested cake recipe and receives rave reviews. Try it and see what you think.

Happy Birthday 2016 everyone! Celebrate with cake!

Grandma’s Buttermilk Cake
(As written by Betty’s mom)

3/4 cup butter
1-3/4 cups sugar
3 eggs
1-1/2 cups buttermilk
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla

Cream butter; add sugar and cream until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition. Dissolve soda in buttermilk. Sift remaining dry ingredients and add alternately with the buttermilk mixture. Add vanilla. Pour into two well greased pans (round, 8-9”). Bake at 350° F. for about 35 minutes. Cool.

White Mountain Frosting

Mix in saucepan:
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons water
1/4 cup light corn syrup

Cover saucepan; bring to rolling boil. Remove cover and cook to 242° or until syrup spins a 6-8-inch thread. Just before syrup is ready, (in separate bowl) beat 2 egg whites until stiff enough to hold a point.

Pour hot syrup very slowly in a thin stream into the beaten eggs whites. Continue to beat until frosting holds peaks. Blend in 1-teaspoon vanilla. Swirl frosting onto cake and (if desired) sprinkle thickly with moist, flaked coconut.

Hummingbird Cake

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 large eggs, beaten
1 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple, undrained
1 cup chopped pecans
2 cups chopped bananas
Cream cheese frosting (see recipe below
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; add eggs and oil, stirring until dry ingredients are moistened. (Do not beat.) Stir in vanilla, pineapple, 1 cup pecans and bananas.

Pour batter into three greased and floured 9-inch round cake pans. Bake at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes; remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks.

Spread Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe below) between layers and on top and sides of cake; sprinkle 1/2 cup chopped pecans on top. Store in refrigerator. Yields 16 servings.

Cream Cheese Frosting #1

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter softened
2 Cups powdered sugar
1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
Mix all ingredients together and blend well. Add a little milk if needed.

KCD “14 Carrot Cake”

Mix together:
6 eggs
1-1/2 cups oil
3 1/2 cups sugar

Add to above and mix well:
4 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
3 teaspoons baking soda
3 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg

Then add and blend well:
1 large can crushed pineapple (16-20 ounces) not drained
4 cups grated carrots
1 cup chopped pecans (more for garnish)

Divide the batter and pour into two greased or sprayed 9X13” pans. Bake about 30 min. Test with toothpick. Cool on rack and frost. Store in refrigerator. Serves a lot!

Cream Cheese Frosting #2
1 cup butter (or margarine)
2 8 ounce packages cream cheese
2 tablespoon vanilla
1 egg
2 pounds sifted powdered sugar

Cream together butter, cream cheese, vanilla and egg. Add powdered sugar 2 cups at a time. Beat well until smooth and creamy.


Keep it simple and keep it seasonal! Betty Kaiser’s Cook’s Corner is dedicated to sharing a variety of recipes that are delicious, family oriented and easy to prepare.

My Christmas Dinner favorites

12/23/15 Cook’s Corner

Betty Kaiser

“On this Christmas day, may the good Lord bless you

as your dear ones gather ‘round. May your laughter be hearty,

love and joy abound.”

An Irish Christmas Blessing

It’s two days before Christmas and I’m running behind. That means I’ve made my lists and checked them twice but there’s still a lot more to do before the big day arrives. Will I get it all done? Probably.

Every year it is more difficult to get the basics checked off. Things like getting the house decorated take longer. Trimming the tree doesn’t happen (no tree this year). Less is more when entertaining. Writing our annual family Christmas newsletter happens at New Year’s. But the biggest job of all is choosing, wrapping and mailing gifts.

Christmas gift buying was easier when our children were at home. And it was a lot of fun when the grandsons came along. Now, it’s a different story. As our grandsons get older (can you say college age?) gifting is more of a challenge than a joy. What do you buy teenagers that doesn’t cost a zillion dollars? Gift cards to the rescue. Of course, then I have to make the decision of who gets what, address and put them in their proper envelope and mail them on time. 

One thing that is seldom on the menu is Campbell’s green bean casserole. My kids have never liked it. However, I am thinking of changing things up this year with Paula Deene’s fresh green bean, onion and mushroom version. After all, the others mostly ignore vegetables on holidays and I love mushrooms. 

One thing that’s always on time is Christmas dinner. The menu choices are predictable and everyone is happy with the meal: shrimp cocktails, baked ham (not a spiral cut), a potato dish, a vegetable, yeast rolls and cranberry sauce. Dessert is almost always pumpkin pie unless we’re having the Sweet Potato Casserole below. Then it’s likely to be cherry topped cheese cake.

Christmas morning always begins with Pat Huff’s delicious sweet rolls. They are put together the night before and left to rise on the counter. Christmas morning they are baked and served with some protein-laden scrambled eggs. We start the day on a sugar high.

On this last column of the year 2015, please know that I count the readers of my columns among my blessings and I wish each of you a very merry Christmas! Shalom.

PAT HUFF’S PULL-APART-ROLLS

3/4 cup chopped nuts

1 package frozen yeast rolls

1 3 ounce package butterscotch pudding

1/2 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Butter bundt pan well. Sprinkle with chopped nuts. Arrange 18-24 frozen Parker House rolls on top of nuts. Sprinkle package of  butterscotch pudding(cooked type) dry over rolls.

Melt butter with  brown sugar and cinnamon. Pour over top of rolls.

Leave out on counter overnight — uncovered. Bake the next morning at 350° for 30 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes. Invert on serving dish. Topping will ooze over the top. Scrumptious! Serves 8 generously

SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE

3 cups mashed sweet potatoes (I use yams)

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

Brown sugar topping (see recipe below)

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Mix all ingredients together and pour into a greased 9x12” casserole dish. Cover with brown sugar topping.  Sprinkle with reserved chopped pecans and bake 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Serves 8.

BROWN SUGAR TOPPING

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cup pecans, chopped (reserve)

Mix brown sugar, flour and butter with fork until medium crumbly. Add more flour if still not crumbling well (about 1 tablespoon at a time).

PAULA DEENE’S GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE

1/3 stick butter

1/2 cup diced onions

1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms

2 cups sliced green beans

3 cups chicken broth

1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup

1 (2.8-ounce) can French-fried onion rings

Pinch House Seasoning, recipe follows

1 cup grated Cheddar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Melt the butter in a large skillet. Sauté the onions and mushrooms in the butter. Boil green beans in chicken broth for 10 minutes and drain. Add the green beans, mushroom soup, onion rings, and House Seasoning to the onion mixture. Stir well. Pour into a greased 1 1/2-quart baking dish. Bake for 20 minutes, then top the casserole with the Cheddar and bake for 10 minutes longer, or until the casserole is hot and cheese is melted.

House Seasoning

1 cup salt

1/4 cup black pepper

1/4 cup garlic powder

Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

LIBBY’S PUMPKIN PIE 

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (original recipe calls for ginger)

1/4 teaspoon cloves

2 large eggs

1 can (15 oz.) Libby’s Pure Pumpkin

1 can (12 fl. Oz.) Carnation Evaporated Milk

1 unbaked 9-inch (4 cup volume) deep dish pie shell

Whipped Cream

Preheat oven to 425° F.

Mix sugar with spices in small bowl. Beat eggs in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mix. Gradually beat in evaporated milk.

Pour into pie shell. Bake in preheated oven for 15 min. Reduce temperature to 350° F. Bake 40-50 min. or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerated. Top each serving with whipped cream.

Note: This is the best and quickest recipe for pumpkin pie. Use Libby’s pumpkin and Carnation milk for best results.

Keep it simple and keep it seasonal!

Betty Kaiser’s Cook’s Corner is dedicated to sharing a variety of recipes 

that are delicious, family oriented and easy to prepare.